1953 Ice Hockey World Championships

1953 Ice Hockey World Championships

Tournament details
Host country	Switzerland
Dates	7–15 March
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Sweden (1st title)
Runner-up	West Germany
Third place	Switzerland
Fourth place	Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	64 (10.67 per match)
Attendance	53,000 (8,833 per match)
← 1952 1954 →

The 1953 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships were the 20th World Championships and the 31st European Championships in ice hockey. The tournament took place between March 7 and March 15, 1953 in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland. Sweden won their first World Championship title and their seventh European Championship title.

This was the first world championship tournament with only European teams. On January 12, 1953, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president W.B. George stated Canada would not be sending a team to the 1953 World Championships. George told the press: "Every year we spend $10,000 to send a Canadian hockey team to Europe to play 40 exhibition games. All these games are played to packed houses that only enrich European hockey coffers. In return we are subjected to constant, unnecessary abuse over our Canadian style of play." Also absent were the Soviets, it was hoped that the USSR would participate but they did not, sending observers, including legendary coach Anatoli Tarasov to scout the tournament. It is believed that an injury to their star player Vsevolod Bobrov was the reason behind the decision.

Czechoslovakia withdrew from the tournament when it became obvious that their President, Klement Gottwald, was going to die from pneumonia he contracted at Stalin's funeral. General František Janda, the Chairman of the State Committee for the Physical Education and Sport ordered the team home, and Gottwald died the next day, March 14, 1953. The team was disqualified, their results annulled and their remaining games cancelled.

World Championships Group A (Switzerland)

Date	Matches A World Championships 1953	Result	Period.
7 March	Czechoslovakia - West Germany	11 - 2 (annulled)	4-1,5-0,2-1
7 March	Switzerland - Sweden	2 - 9	1-2,1-5,0-2
8 March	Switzerland - Czechoslovakia	4 - 9 (annulled)	0-4,1-2,3-3
8 March	Sweden - West Germany	8 - 6	4-1,3-3,1-2
10 March	Sweden - Czechoslovakia	5 - 3 (annulled)	5-1,0-1,0-1
10 March	West Germany - Switzerland	2 - 3	0-1,2-1,0-1
12 March	Sweden - Switzerland	9 - 1	5-1,1-0,3-0
12 March	West Germany - Czechoslovakia	4 - 9 (annulled)	2-4,1-2,1-3
13 March	Czechoslovakia - Switzerland	Cancelled
13 March	West Germany - Sweden	2 - 12	0-2,1-5,1-5
15 March	Czechoslovakia - Sweden	Cancelled
15 March	Switzerland - West Germany	3 - 7	2-4,0-1,1-2

Table

Place	Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Sweden	4	4	0	0	38	11	8
2	West Germany	4	1	3	0	17	26	2
3	Switzerland	4	1	3	0	9	27	2
NC	Czechoslovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

World Championships Group B (Switzerland)

Also participating was a Swiss 'B' team who (if their games counted) would have finished third.

Date	Matches B World Championships 1953	Result	Period.
7 March	Italy - Austria	9 - 5	3-1,4-3,2-1
7 March	Switzerland B - Great Britain	1 - 3	1-0,0-1,0-2
8 March	Austria - Netherlands	5 - 3	2-0,2-3,1-0
8 March	Switzerland B - France	7 - 1	4-1,1-0,2-0
10 March	Great Britain - Netherlands	8 - 4	4-2,1-2,3-0
10 March	Switzerland B - Italy	1 - 2	1-0,0-0,0-2
11 March	Austria - France	8 - 1	2-1,2-0,4-0
11 March	Italy - Netherlands	7 - 0	4-0,1-0,2-0
12 March	Great Britain - France	8 - 3	3-0,3-1,2-2
13 March	Great Britain - Austria	3 - 0	1-0,1-0,1-0
13 March	Switzerland B - Netherlands	7 - 5	1-1,5-2,1-2
14 March	Italy - France	5 - 2	2-1,1-0,2-1
14 March	Switzerland B - Austria	8 - 2	2-0,1-1,5-1
15 March	Netherlands - France	8 - 3	4-1,2-1,2-1
15 March	Italy - Great Britain	3 - 2	3-0,0-0,0-2

Table

Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
4	Italy	5	5	0	0	26 - 10	10
5	Great Britain	5	4	0	1	24 - 11	8
NC	Switzerland B	5	3	0	2	24 - 13	6
6	Austria	5	2	0	3	20 - 24	4
7	Netherlands	5	1	0	4	20 - 30	2
8	France	5	0	0	5	10 - 36	0

References

• Complete results